Remember Tonight
by Treehilldreams
Summary: She's not just asking him to stay with Peyton. She's telling him that he must leave her, that they're finished, once and for all.


Hey everyone! I'm back with yet another oneshot...they seem to be all I can write as of late. This one has a Brooke/Lucas pairing, AND a Lucas/Peyton pairing. Hope you enjoy...and remember, reviewslove. :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own OTH. I have, however, borrowed one of the quotes they used in one of the episodes of the second season.

**"Remember Tonight"**

_"For two will always be stronger than one, like a team braced against the tempest civil world. And love will always be the guiding force in our lives."_

Lucas Scott stood at the top of the altar, looking out at the crowd before him. All of his friends and family were present in the Church. For some reason, he felt like his bow-tie was just a little too tight- he couldn't seem to catch his breath. His hands were shaking as he tried to loosen it up a bit, and he could have sworn that his heart was about to fall out of his chest from beating so hard. To Lucas' right stood his brother, looking completely calm and happy as he waved toward Haley and some friends that sat in the Church pews.

"Is it normal to be this nervous?" Lucas asked.

"People always get nervous at weddings, the key is to just play it cool," Nathan replied.

Nathan was his best man, he was required to tell Lucas things like that, but Lucas knew better. He wasn't supposed to be this nervous to get married. In fact, he wasn't just nervous. He was absolutely terrified. _There's still time to back out, _he thought to himself. He could easily walk right out of the Church. Right when he was seriously considering doing just that, the back doors to the Church swung open. The light from the outdoors flooded inside, and everyone turned their attention to the back.

The wedding had begun.

-

_The bar was filled with people as he walked inside, but the first person he laid his eyes on was her. She was sitting at the bar, sliding a shot glass back and fourth on it's surface. The stool next to her was empty, as if she knew that he was coming. It was almost like she was expecting this from him, especially on the day before the wedding. He pushes through the crowd of people until he reaches that empty bar stool, and he sits down to order a drink._

_"You shouldn't be here," she says to him. Her words aren't slurred at all, and he's somewhat suprised that she isn't completely drunk yet. She looks stressed out beyond practical belief, just like he is. He scrutinizes her thoroughly, and finds that in so many ways she has changed. She doesn't look like the naive teenage girl he fell in love with. She looks like a 28 year old woman who's changed the world, just like he promised she would. The years have been kind to her. In her late twenties, she looks better than he's ever seen her. He's not so sure if he can say the same about himself. The past few years spent as a writer have taken their toll on him. As of late, his career has consisted of meeting deadlines, and his writing isn't inspired by his own happiness like it used to be. Although they've both changed in more ways than one, he's discovered that his love for her over the years has remained constant. Though he knows that he shouldn't, he prays to God that she feels the same. _

_"Why not?" he counters._

_She ignored him, and continued to slide her glass across the counter-top. He can tell that she's thinking hard, just like he's been for the past few days. The question was whether or not she was having the same thoughts as he was._

_"Brooke?" he prods._

_"The wedding is tommorow, Lucas, that's why!" she shot back, finally shifting her gaze to his awaiting eyes. He wonders why she's yelling at him for coming here tonight; she had to have known that he would find her here. After all, it's the exact same bar that they played pool and kissed in for the first time all those years ago. _

_"So then why aren't you following your own advice?" he dares. "If the weddings tommorow, than why are you here?"_

_Brooke grabbed her glass and downed her drink in a single gulp, grimacing as the hot sting of alchohol burned her throat. Then she turned to meet his stare. For a moment he thinks that she's going to slap him or do something extreme, because within her gaze is a ferocity that terrifies him. But she doesn't hit him. Instead, she takes his hand in hers and gently squeezes it._

_"Because I knew you would come," she whispers._

-

Brooke's figure emerges in the open doors of the Church, and with the light from the sunshine surrounding her, Lucas swears that she could be an angel. With purposeful strides, she begins to walk down the aisle. Every eye is on her, including his own, and he doesn't dare to blink in fear of missing a single glimpse of the beautiful woman before him. Her hair is up in a curly mess with flowers weaved into it. He had no idea what to call this glamorous hair-do, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that she was here, and for the first time all day he felt his nerves ease.

She locks eyes with him and smiles, and Lucas can't understand how she can act so calm and collected on a day like this. He's been a nervous wreck, and he can't help but to worry over whether or not he's doing the right thing in rushing into a marriage. If Brooke is having any of the same thoughts, she's clearly good at hiding it. As he stands at the altar, watching the beautiful woman glide toward him as if she were on top of the world, he realizes that she's completely flawless. Brooke had always been radiant, georgeous...but today she somehow looked different. She looked _perfect. _Before he knows it, she's standing a few feet away from him before the alter, so close that he can smell the scent of the lilac flowers in her hair. He waits expectantly for her to come and stand beside him, but for some strange reason she doesn't. Instead, she walks to the left of him and stands by the corner of the altar. He feels the confusion cloud his mind, as if he was in a daze. She was supposed to be standing here with him as his bride. They were supposed to be together. He pleadingly looks at her, begging for her to explain what is going on, because he doesn't have the slightest clue. She returns his gaze, and he can see the tears of sadness slowly fill her gleaming green eyes. And all of a sudden, she isn't so flawless anymore. As he contemplates her, Lucas Scott realizes that the fake facade she's demonstrated isn't even close to her true feelings. It's obvious now that she's vulnerable and devastated, and Lucas doesn't understand how he didn't pick up on this sooner. The look on her face is familiar to him, because he's seen it so many times in the past. She's _heartbroken_.

He can hear the murmurs in the crowd, and he knows that they're all questioning the sudden tension that's erupted within the Church. Behind him, Nathan grabs his suit jacket and desperately whispers, "You can't do this, Luke. Stop looking at her like that."

He refuses to listen to his brother, and instead takes a step in Brooke's direction. Her eyes flash with sudden warning as he approaches her, and she violently shakes her head.

Under her breath, she whispers a single word that only he can hear: "_Don't_."

Just as the first set of tears begin to stream down her cheeks, wedding music starts to play, and everyone in the Church stands. Once again, the attention is directed toward the back as a woman in a white dress steps through the doors. The woman begins to walk toward him, just as Brooke had moments before. Her blonde curls surround her face in a halo of gold. She looks at him curiously as she approaches the alter, and he can only assume that it's because he's staring at her as if she had three heads. But his surprised and confused reaction doesn't seem to steer her away, and suddenly the tune to, "Here Come's The Bride," has ended. She's standing on the altar next to him, in the spot that Brooke should have occupied. Then reality finally kicks in.

Brooke Davis isn't the one he's marrying today.

-

_"I don't think I can marry her," he says, a look of unwillingness and confusion amidst in his eyes. He downs another glass of water in a single gulp, and reluctantly realizes that he won't find any comfort in alchohol tonight. Brooke refuses to let him drink anything with any substantial liquor in it. He's already messed up enough as it is, he doesn't need to get drunk on top of it all._

_"Having second thoughts, are we?" she asks teasingly. She smiles and winks at him, and he feels his heart quicken at the appearance of her happiness. _

_Without returning her smile, he says, "I'm serious, Brooke."_

_Her smile vanishes from her face, and is replaced by a serious pout. "Why not?" she asks, which is a question that she already knows the answer to, but she just wants to hear him say it._

_He pauses momentarily to consider her question. He doesn't want to answer her, because he knows that his reply is going to be wrong for so many reasons. He envisions Peyton's innocent and smiling eyes in his mind. He doesn't want to betray her, but the damage is already done. He's sitting next to Brooke Davis in a bar, and it's the night before his wedding. He's already crossed the line. _

_In a voice barely above a whisper, he murmurs, "Because I'm in love with you." _

_He waits for a reaction from her, maybe to hear that she loves him too, but she doesn't say a word. Her face turns to stone, and her bottom lip begins to tremble. She turns away from him, and begins to fidget with her necklace. He wishes that he could read her thoughts, because he'd sacrifice anything to know what she's thinking at that very moment. _

_"I need you to promise me something, Lucas." _

_He looks into those gleaming green eyes of hers and bows his head in defeat, because he knows that what she's about to say is going to end whatever it is that they've shared together- call it love, passion, heartbreak, intimacy. Their relationship for these past few months had been nothing but a deception- an affair that they played out perfectly. No one knew that he was at her apartment almost every night after work, making love to her when he was supposed to be home tending to his soon to be wife. When they were in the company of others, no one ever caught their lustful glances at one another that managed to conceal their secret. To everyone else, Brooke and Lucas were just longtime friends who had a slight history with one another. But to each other, Brooke and Lucas were so much more._

_Brooke gently lifts his chin up until he's once again staring her in the eyes, and she begins to run her hands through his long blonde hair. She's always hated it this long. Whenever they were together they fought until she forced him into getting his hair cut regularly. But it seemed that Peyton didn't care about his hair- pretty soon he'd start looking like Tarzan, and Brooke wouldn't be there to tell him to get it cut. She feels the tears swell in her eyes as she thinks of the finality of his marriage. She'll never be able to claim Lucas Scott to herself again. _

_He feels a shiver overtake his body at her touch, and it takes everything he has not to make love to her right there on the counter of that bar. Then she leans in, so close that he feels her soft lips brush again the skin of his cheek. He prays that she'll just kiss him and rid him of his misery, because he can't bare to be so close to her._

_Leaning into his ear, she whispers, "Promise me that you'll stay with her...that you won't leave her no matter what happens."_

_He furiously shakes his head and pulls away from her. He looks as if he's about to protest, but she places a finger over his lips to silence whatever he's about to say. _

_"She's carrying your child. Your son whose going to be born in less than five months. He needs a family, and you can't just abandon him because you love me. You told me once that you always thought you'd be older, settled, and in love when you started a family. You have all of those things, Lucas. You just have to accept it," she continues to whisper. _

_At this, Lucas feels a powerful flood of guilt cloud his emotions. He already knows that loving Brooke and wishing he could be with her is wrong, and the idea that he's abandoning his unborn son only adds to it. As a child that never knew a father, Lucas knows that Brooke is right. He must stay with Peyton and their son, no matter what. But the selfish part of him just wants to tell her that he loves Peyton, but he doesn't want her to be the mother of his child. He wants Brooke, but for the first time in his life, Lucas finally understands that there's no chance of ever having her again._

_"But we never planned to have a baby, Brooke. It was a mist-"_

_"Don't. Don't you dare say that. Something like this isn't a mistake, and I don't care if it was planned or not. Remember when we had the pregnancy scare? You promised that you'd be there for me, no matter what. Promise me that you'll do the same for Peyton, and that you'll stay with her," she demands._

_He can tell what the true meaning behind this promise is. She's not just asking him to stay with Peyton. She's telling him that he must leave her, that they're finished once and for all. His life with Peyton is already perfectly planned, with a baby on the way and a wedding scheduled for tommorow. Brooke isn't involved in those plans at all._

_She determidably grips his face in her hands and bites her lip to hold back the inevitable tears. "P-promise me!" she urges, her voice cracking as she attempts to silence her sobs of despair._

_He stares into her begging eyes, and knows that he has no choice but to agree. He nods his head in silent surrender and replies, "Okay...I promise."_

-

Peyton's hands are held in his own, and he wonders if she feels him trembling. They're standing about a foot apart, and their closeness forces him to stare straight into her eyes. She looks happy and content, and her smiling eyes show that she has no idea about what's going on with him at the moment. Although he wears a fake smile, he's truly breaking under the pressure of having all of his friends and family, including Brooke, watch him promise to love Peyton for the rest of his life. He's already promised Brooke that he will, but suddenly he's not so sure he can do it.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God to join this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony."

The words of the priest go unheard in Lucas' ears. Behind him, he can feel Brooke staring at his back, and though he can't see her, he can only imagine her solemn expression. He wishes that he can turn around and give her a look of reassurance. If marrying Peyton is hard for him, then it must be so much worse for her to watch it happen.

The priest's voice breaks into the barrier of Lucas' thoughts. He's asking Peyton if she'll take Lucas to be her lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do her part.

"I do!" Peyton says instantly, without a moment's consideration. Her smile grows wider as she says this, and she softly squeezes Lucas' hands in her own.

"And do you, Lucas Scott, take thee Peyton Sawyer as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do you part?" the priest asks.

Lucas doesn't respond, and instead he casts his gaze to the floor. He doesn't want to go through with this. Marrying Peyton would be like living a lie, and if he was going to do that then there was no reason to live. He turns his head a fraction of an inch and pretends to scan the crowd of the Church, but all he's trying to do is catch a glimpse of Brooke. In the corner of his eye, he see's a familiar shade of brown hair decorated with lilacs. He wants to fully turn around and stare at her beautiful face, but he knows that he can't make his love for her that apparent. _I can't do this, _he pleads in his head to the brunette, wishing that he could talk to her.

"Ahem," the priest clears his throat noisily, and Lucas turns back to face Peyton. His eyes immediately find her stomach, which is covered by her wedding gown. It's slightly rounded with her four months of pregnancy, and inside he envisions his unborn son. The son that he must provide a family for and that he refuses to betray. In his mind he can still hear Brooke's voice from last night. _"Promise me that you'll stay with her...that you won't leave her."_

Without another moment's delay, he says, "I do." The words roll off his tongue clearly, yet they're nothing but a lie.

-

_The tears are falling in steady lines down Brooke's cheeks now, and she can't make them stop despite her efforts to wipe them away. Even though she's just forced the man that she loves to promise that he'll love her best friend for the rest of his life, she braves a smile that is almost convincible._

_"There's one more thing you have to promise me," she said to Lucas. Part of him wants to hate her and scream at her for making him agree to these promises, but how can he say no? She looks so helpless and vulnerable, and at this point he's willing to do anything to please her._

_"Okay," he replied, bracing himself for what's about to come._

_Brooke claps her hands together in delight, and a flirtatious look crosses her watery eyes. For a fleeting moment, she looks just like the young and spontaneous teenager he fell in love with all those years ago. But it only happens for a moment, and as she grabs his hand in hers and pulls him up from his bar stool, her seriousness has returned. She guides him through the crowd of people, and as they pass by the pool table, he remembers when they played here on their very first date. She was Gretchen and he was Henry, thanks in part to Brooke's fake IDS. They played all night long, throwing back beers and flirting in the process. He can remember exactly what she was wearing- that black shirt that showed off the bare skin of her shoulders, if only to tempt him even more. He was consumed by her easy nature and carefree attitude that night. It was the first time he had ever truly let loose and done something spontaneous, like get drunk in a bar when you're only 16, make-out with a gorgeous girl, and get a tatoo in the process._

_Brooke continued to pull him through the bar, until she lead him to a secluded section that looked all too familiar. It could almost pass as an alley, but the bright lights that were strung from the ceiling made it seem a bit more welcoming. Lucas' mind began to swarm with images of the past, and of the first time they kissed in this same alley-way. _

_Before he knows whats hit him, Brooke is leaning against the worn brick wall, unzipping her jeans and pulling them down to reveal the japanese tatoo on her hip. She waves him over, but the little logical sense that he has left tells him to remain where he is. _

_"What's your take on tattoos?" she asked, cocking her eyebrow in a tempting manner._

_He lets out a subtle laugh, and with tentative steps he finds himself standing in front of her. Her hands fly out and grab at his sleeve, pulling at the material of his shirt until its revealed his matching tattoo she made him get all those years ago. She traces the outline of it with a single finger, and her simple touch releases a sensation that he can barely hope to contain._

_"I lied," she whispers huskily, "this tattoo doesn't stand for fun. It stands for promise. I meant for mine to say fun, but I was so drunk when I got it that I picked the wrong design, and I ended up with the word 'promise' tattooed in Japanese under my pants. Not the best turn on."_

_He squinted at her in that broody way of his, as if he was trying to figure her out. But no matter how hard he trys, he'll never be able to. Brooke will always be a mystery to him._

_She takes a deep breath, and with her eyes glued to the design on his shoulder she says, "I guess this tattoo's meaning was always fitting. We never had much in common when we were dating, except for these tattoos. It's almost like they're reassuring, you know? I always thought of them as a sort of promise...like a bind that held us together. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they connected us, and as long as we had them it sort of meant that we belonged to each other."_

_ He finds it amazing that she can put so much into perspective with just a few words. He reaches out and gently caresses the "promise" tattoo on her hip, savoring the feeling of her soft skin against his fingers._

_"I need you to remember what this means, Lucas," she said, staring pointedly at his tattoo. "It means that we'll always belong to each other, regardless of whether or not we're together."_

_He feels himself break under the power of her words, and he finds that he can't contain himself any longer. With one swift move he pushes her against the wall and attacks her lips with his own. They kissed like it was the last time they ever would, because they knew deep down inside that it was. Their kiss was more than just a sharing of lips and breaths- it was a slight tingle of racing hearts, a feeling of intimate connection, a seal on their promise of love. She gave herself up to him, parting her lips and allowing him to taste everything she had to give. His hands cupped the back of her head possesively, prolonging their contact for as long as he could. They clung to each other tightly as their feelings collided in a final moment of solitude._

_Brooke pulled away from him wearily, and she felt a desperate urge to stay here with him forever. Her brown hair fell in a tangle across her flushed face as she stared at him with a desire that she knew would never be fulfilled. She moved close to him again and allowed him to wrap her into his embrace. He bent his head and buried himself in the hollow of her throat, memorizing the scent of her. In response, she cradled his head against her, fingering the hair at the back of his neck._

_"There's one last thing you have to do for me," she whispered. _

_"Anything for you," he murmured, his soft breath playing tricks against her skin._

_She connected them once again, and the contact of her mouth on his was sudden, demanding, and quickly over. She realeased him so abruptly that he was left trembling and confused. Her hands reached out and touched his face, smoothing the distinctive frown of his furrowed brow. She ran her hands along his body, touching every part of him. She needed to commit this version of him to memory, so when she closed her eyes she could bring him back to her and conjure every line, every detail of him. She needed to remember him as he was right now, because she knew that for the rest of her life she would never be this close to him again. For the rest of her life, she'd be watching him with another woman from a distance._

_But that's the price she had to pay for loving a man who was bound to someone else._

_"Promise me that you'll remember tonight," she replied in a single breath._

_Then she turned and walked away without waiting for his answer. His eyes followed her figure out of the place in which they shared their first and last kiss until she dissapeared into the mass of people. She was gone, and he had nothing left of her but the lingering taste of her lips._

-

"Everything about this night has been so perfect," Peyton said from her seat next to him.

Lucas only nodded in reply, because even though he doesn't want to admit it, he knows that she's right. Their reception, which was being held in the dining hall at an Italian restaurant, was going smoothly so far. Everyone seemed to be having a decent time, dancing the night away to the average yet overpaid wedding singer. The food was good, and the champagne was flowing. Everything was as it should be, except for the groom. Almost every five minutes, Lucas' eyes scanned the dining hall until he could find Brooke. She never once returned his gaze. In fact, she barely looked at him the entire night. She managed to remain at a distance, being careful to stay away from the small table that Lucas and Peyton were occupying.

"I'm going to go get some more champagne," Lucas said, wanting nothing more than a few moments to himself.

Just as he stood from his seat, the room became hushed and all attention was directed to the stage where the wedding singer was previously singing. Standing before the microphone was Brooke, staring into the crowd with a strained smile on her face.

Brooke gripped the microphone in one hand, and in the other she held her champagne glass. She had never felt this nervous to speak in front of others, and she willed her body to stop trembling. She knew that Lucas had been watching her all night long, but this time she was the one searching the crowd for his familiar face. She couldn't find him, and as everyone looked upon her expectantly, she prayed that she could keep her voice steady as she began her speech.

"The last time I spoke as the maid of honor at a wedding, I borrowed some words from Shakespeare. This time, I guess you could say that I'm taking words from someone equally important."

She paused, and in a flood of panic she couldn't seem to find the words to continue. She couldn't do this. She couldn't make a toast to the man she loved for marrying her best friend. Then she saw him, his brilliant blue eyes shining as he stared at her intently. She closed her eyes for a single second, if only to envision the look on his face last night when she kissed him. And suddenly, she remembered everything she had to say.

"Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always. A promise, like a reward for persisting through life so long alone. A decision to ignore, or simply rise above the pain of the past. A covenant, which at once binds two souls and yet severs prior ties. A celebration of the chance taken and the challenge that lies ahead."

Lucas slowly sunk back into his seat, intrigued by what he was hearing. It was his speech, his own words that he never got the chance to say at Keith's wedding. Here they were, ten years later, and she was the one reciting his speech at his own wedding. He was enchanted as he listened to her, shocked that she remembered it after all this time.

"...for two will always be stronger than one, like a team braced against the tempest civil world. And love will always be the guiding force in our lives. For tonight is mere formality. Only an announcement to the world of feelings long held, promises made long ago, in the sacred space of our hearts."

Brooke raised her glass with a forced smile, and walked off the stage. As she walked back to her table, Lucas caught her eye from across the room. Copying what she had done moments before, he raised his champagne glass in her direction. His eyes held hers for a long moment, and the sounds of the music and the talk of the crowd faded away. Even though he was now married, and though their relationship was infinitely finished, within their gaze was a silent understanding of something that they would always know- they belonged to each other.


End file.
